when i go out to eat, i have an uncontrollable urge to stack all the plates on the table.
20050408
the ocd: stacking problem
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santos.
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11:17 AM
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22 comments:
4/08/2005 01:43:00 PM
Hehehe!! that's a funny habit.. ever wonder why...?? perhaps.. you are in need of order..??
4/08/2005 03:39:00 PM
Are you an ex-smoker?
Ex-smokers always need soemthing to twiddle with after dinner. I know.
4/08/2005 03:49:00 PM
hi mrs.t--hm. maybe. i think it's more of a crowding/confinement issue. but i do sort out the plates according to size and i usually eye up the server to see if they've got the upper body strength to handle a big stack or if it's better to do several smaller stacks. that's more disorder than order. dishorder. dish horder. oh, now that's the ocd kicking in ;-)
oslofoodie--yay! another one! i've got at least two family members doing it now too.
pieman--nope, not a ex- or current smoker. twiddling, though. i'm familiar with that.
4/08/2005 04:30:00 PM
oh, yeah, i probably wouldn't do it at tets either, but i'd fuss over the chopsticks and move around glasses a bit. does he have beautiful dishes? i'll bet he has some interesting ones.
crockery spaceships are fun, i think i stack at chinese restaurants to get a more ergonomically sound spaceship started.
4/08/2005 05:50:00 PM
Hey, me too!! I was influenced by my aunt. She stacks up and make the table easier to clear for the restaurant!
4/08/2005 08:52:00 PM
Hi Santos,
I'm not a stacker, but I like to have the dishes lined up in a certain order. I got upset with a server once for moving a dish to a different location on the table.
4/08/2005 10:26:00 PM
hi pinkcocoa! spiceblog anthony says a lot of waiters hate this because sometimes the stacks are too heavy, badly made, or thrust on them when they are doing something else. i don't really force them on the server unless there isn't any more room, but i bet they look at the table with all the stacks and think "uh oh".
hey reid--really? that's sort of awesome. was the server trying to make more room? i think if a server moved my plate that i was still eating off of, i'd be annoyed.
4/08/2005 10:48:00 PM
Ai ya! I do this too! I think it's a complusive Asian habit. ::LOL:: I grew up in the restaurant biz so I guess that's another reason why I stack it - it's easier to clear the tables (well, if you stack 'em right...)
4/08/2005 11:13:00 PM
Phew! Looks like I'm not the only one! I stack the plate and pick up any bits of food that are on the table. I think my compulsion for doing this comes from my years of working in restaurants while in college.
By the way..... How's the puppy? You haven't updated on him lately.
4/09/2005 02:22:00 AM
Ummm, I only do that at kaiten sushi places. I will stack and sort the plates according to colours and then arrange the stacks based on height.
4/09/2005 11:41:00 AM
I do that too - drives my husband crazy because I usually stack them all in the middle or on his side. :) When I'm done, I just don't want to stare at a dirty plate, I guess. ;)
4/09/2005 03:29:00 PM
hi 888--i don't know if it's an asian thing, but i'll bet more asians do stack.
biscuit girl--i clean up the tables too, but i'm embarrassed at how messy i can get :-) you can see more puppy photos on flickr--he's getting big!
st--i stack and sort too. but because i think stacking is expected, i tend to try to make skyscrapers :-D
sweetnicks--(laughing) of course! i don't want all those dirty plates in front of me either!
4/09/2005 08:45:00 PM
Hi Santos,
I don't think the server was trying to make room. I think he was just doing it to irritate me. There was lots of room on the table already.
4/10/2005 01:19:00 AM
hey reid--man, i *hate* hostile servers it makes me want to put a fork into their elbows or something.
4/10/2005 12:57:00 PM
Not only do I stack, I mop up the water rings and any sauce dribbles. This is disturbing to see so many people come out and admit it. We need a 12-steps program or something. "Hello. I'm Third Shift, and I stack and clean where it's not even my job."
4/10/2005 01:17:00 PM
(laughing) so third shift, is this a searing indictment against society that
a) we are so eager to believe we are in a classless society so we do not want to make anyone feel inferior by having to clean up after us
b) we do not want to seem helpless and so useless that we don't know how to clean up after ourselves so we do it to prove we can
c) we are so used to inept service we feel the need to do it ourselves
and/or
d) everyone needs a disorder, might as well be stacking
;-)
4/10/2005 09:04:00 PM
My mum's dining table rule : Only stacking the plates in the end of a meal. If I stack plates like this during meal, she is going to give a smash on my hands. :P
4/10/2005 10:31:00 PM
hi fish fish--i'm sure it is a terrible breach of etiquette, bad manners to stack, isn't it? that's why i won't do it in really really nice places. oh, heck, you know what? i probably would if it came down to lac of space.
4/12/2005 02:42:00 AM
Usually in those conveyor sushi places. Then I horrify muself with my super-skyscraper.
One weird thing I do is to ask the server not to change plates too often, because my mum said that minimises my exposure to dishwashing liquid!
umami
http://umami.typepad.com/
4/12/2005 03:04:00 AM
hi umami! it's a compulsion, isn't it, at those conveyor places. they make it so easy!
4/15/2005 06:06:00 AM
Yikes! I do this too, aside from bossing around waiters, asking for extra saucers, condiments, etc. Perhaps because I serve at the table at home and the rule is, you have to know before the diner asks for what he/she needs. Ayayay!
4/21/2005 01:12:00 AM
I'm also a stacker, it comes from growing up in the restaurant biz and also because so many restaurants have teeny weensy tables. After a meal, I like to spread out a bit, hence the stacking!
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